City searching for the best book written by a Calgary author in 2023

Calgary authors who published a book in 2023 have until Dec. 1 to submit it for consideration for the city's W.O. Mitchell Book Prize. (Photo: X@CityofCalgary)

The City of Calgary is seeking a few good authors to be considered for the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize.

On its @cityofcalgary X feed Friday, the city tweeted, "There are 2 weeks left to submit your work of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, children's literature or drama for the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize."

Last year's winner was novelist Suzette Mayr, for her novel The Sleeping Car Porter, which also won the Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Governor-General Award.

The winner receives $5,000, which will be presented at the Calgary Awards Presentation in June.

The prize is awarded in honour of Calgary writer W.O. Mitchell, whose comedic curling play, The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon is being presented by Alberta Theatre Projects in February. The comedy was one of the breakthrough hits for Theatre Calgary when it premiered in March 1980 and was so popular, the theatre remounted it in 1988.

2022 Giller Prize finalist Suzette Mayr attends the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize in Toronto, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston

To be eligible, the book must have been published anywhere in the world between Jan. 1 and Dec.1, 2023. The author must have lived in Calgary a minimum of two years, as of Dec.31, 2023.

Self-published books with an ISBN are eligible.

However, the following types of books are not eligible: multi-author anthologies, cookbooks, guidebooks, textbooks, technical manuals, bibliographies and books that are purely academic or scholarly in nature. Also, books, that are less than 48 pages (except for children's literature), books not written in English or French, and reprints or new editions of previously published books.

The deadline for online entries submitted to the Writers Guild of Alberta is Dec. 1. For more information, go here.